Podcast Summary: "Preserving the Village"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Date: January 18, 2024
Guest: Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation
Featured Callers: Eric Washington (historian), Angela, Mark, Craig, Sarah
Theme: The intricacies of landmark preservation in New York City with a focus on Greenwich Village—exploring successes, challenges, cultural significance, community engagement, and the ongoing fight to retain crucial parts of the city’s history.

Overview

This episode delves into the essential work of Village Preservation, an advocacy group fighting to maintain the architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Host Alison Stewart, with guest Andrew Berman, explores why preserving historic buildings, local businesses, and broader neighborhood qualities still matters amid the relentless pressures of New York City real estate and change. The conversation also features historic case studies (like 50 West 13th Street), first-person perspectives from listeners, and commentary from historian Eric Washington, enriching the discussion with stories of both victory and heartbreak in the city’s ongoing preservation battles.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Village Preservation: Purposes and Evolution

• Origins and Scope

  • Founded in 1980, initially focused on a portion of Greenwich Village. Now spans all of Greenwich Village, East Village, and NoHo.
  • Mission: To "document, celebrate and preserve the special architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village, the East Village and NoHo," including not just buildings, but small businesses and cultural institutions.

    "It's an incredibly rich history that covers everything from innovators to immigrants, civil rights to artists." – Andrew Berman (04:55)

• Evolution of Focus

  • Initial efforts centered on historic buildings; now also preserve community fabric: small businesses, housing types, religious/cultural institutions. (06:26)

Responding to Major "Black Swan" Events

(07:01–09:04)

• 9/11

  • Sparked deeper reflection on core values and increased efforts to document community responses and memories.

    “It's important that we remember that. Those are sometimes painful memories, but it's important that they not be erased.” – Andrew Berman (07:54)

• Superstorm Sandy

  • Triggered a focus on resiliency, recognizing climate-related threats to historic buildings, especially those near water.

    “One of the things that we focused more on is the issue of resiliency... not only survive development schemes, but just the impact of nature and climate change.” – Andrew Berman (08:16)

• COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Highlighted the fragility and importance of local independent businesses, prompting targeted support to help them withstand crisis.

    “We've given special attention to trying to help and support longstanding, existing local, small, independent businesses...” – Andrew Berman (08:44)

Preservation Versus Progress: Frequently Debated Issues

• Balancing Growth and Heritage
  (Caller Mark, 09:22–11:29)

  • Concerns about loss of sight lines, neighborhood character, and the overall integrity of the city skyline due to unregulated development.
  • Andrew agrees: Affordability, zoning, and community input are vital parts of responsible growth, with landmarking only a "tiny fraction" (about 4%) of the city.

    “Landmarking is one small part of that... Good zoning is enormously important...” – Andrew Berman (10:35)

• Critiques that Preservation Prevents Affordable Housing

  • Responds to NYT opinion arguing landmarking blocks affordable housing:

    “Even landmarking, which... applies to about 4% of the city, certainly does not preserve the city in amber by any means... our areas that are landmarked are some of our most dynamic neighborhoods. They do undergo incredible amounts of change...” – Andrew Berman (11:48)

  • Notes landmarked districts can help protect remaining rent-regulated housing (12:55).

Community Engagement and Actionable Advice

• Empowering Residents

  • Engage with city council members, community boards, and neighborhood associations to amplify voices.

    “When you're part of a larger group, that voice can get amplified and can certainly have more of an impact.” – Andrew Berman (14:43)

• On Preserving Businesses vs. Buildings

  • Unlike buildings, which can be legally protected, there is currently no city mechanism to landmark or preserve businesses specifically (16:06).

    “Once the business is gone, there's nothing that preserves the facade... unless it happens to be part of a landmark building.” – Andrew Berman

Case Studies: Preservation in Action

50 West 13th Street

(19:29–22:57)

• Historical Importance

  • Former home of the 13th Street Repertory Theater; residence of Jacob Day, a prominent 19th-century Black businessman and civil rights activist.
  • Also home to Sarah Smith Garnett, the first Black principal in NYC schools and suffrage leader.

  “For listeners who don't know, at that time, Greenwich Village was actually the center of black life in New York... Day was very actively involved with abolition efforts and then also after abolition with trying to remove discriminatory laws in New York that kept most black men from... voting.” – Andrew Berman (20:50)

• Current Struggle

  • Condition deteriorating. Advocacy ongoing for its landmarking; city has not yet acted.

Colored School No. 4 (128 West 17th Street)

(Call and segment with Eric Washington, 22:57–29:16)

• How Was It Discovered?
  • Historian Eric Washington discovered its history while researching for his book; efforts to prove that the current building matched historic records.
• Community Victory
  • Designated a landmark in May 2023 after grassroots activism, letters, and petitions.
  • Mayor Adams committed $6 million for rehabilitation.

    “That news didn’t come until 24 hours before. So it was, you know, an absolute surprise.” – Eric Washington (28:17)

Personal Wins and Losses in Preservation

(29:37–33:16)

• Proudest Achievement

  • Landmarking the "South Village" (south of Washington Square), long overlooked due to historic working-class and immigrant character.

    “Immigrant history as well... all that history is actually not why it should be overlooked, but why it should... be celebrated and preserved.” – Andrew Berman (30:46)

• Notable Loss

  • The "Tunnel Garage" (early 1920s, Art Deco parking garage) demolished despite advocacy; now condominiums.

• Provincetown Playhouse

  • Once the heart of off-Broadway theater, NYU promised partial preservation but ultimately only the façade remains.

    “...another in a long line of broken promises by NYU... virtually all of the rest of it is [demolished].” – Andrew Berman (32:21)

Village Preservation Archives

(33:16–34:01)

• Rich Resource for the Public
  • Includes ~4,500+ historic photographs, records, oral histories (Jane Jacobs, Jonas Mekas, more).

    “It is literally a treasure trove of information that you could, you know, spend a day, a week, a year just exploring.” – Andrew Berman (33:57)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the limits of landmarking:

  “Something like 4% of the city is landmarked—it’s a tiny fraction of our city for which that’s really an appropriate response.” – Andrew Berman (10:35)

• On the link between affordability and preservation:

  “One of the biggest threats to affordable housing is it being demolished... landmark districts actually tend to have very large reservoirs of things like rent regulated housing.” – Andrew Berman (12:55)

• On recovering Black history in NYC through buildings:

  “For listeners who don’t know, at that time, Greenwich Village was actually the center of black life in New York. It had the largest African American community in New York.” – Andrew Berman (20:50)

• On historic preservation as community empowerment:

  “When you're part of a larger group, that voice can get amplified and can certainly have more of an impact.” – Andrew Berman (14:43)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Village Preservation’s Mission and Beginnings: 04:55–06:26
• Impact of 9/11, Sandy, COVID: 07:01–09:04
• Call-in: Balancing Development/Growth: 09:22–11:29
• Critiques of Overpreservation: 11:29–13:03
• Christopher Street “puppy stores” query: 13:07–13:56
• Advice for fighting predatory development: 14:38–15:13
• On legacy businesses and preservation: 16:03–17:08
• Biggest obstacles for preservation: 17:13–18:40
• Case Study: 50 West 13th Street: 19:29–22:57
• Historian Eric Washington on Colored School No. 4: 23:33–29:16
• Andrew’s biggest wins/losses in preservation: 29:37–33:16
• Village Preservation’s Archives: 33:16–34:01

Conclusion

This episode showcases both the victories and setbacks of historic preservation in New York, highlighting the vital but precarious role cultural memory, architecture, and advocacy play in shaping the soul of the city. Through dialogue with preservationists, historians, and engaged citizens, Alison Stewart and Andrew Berman paint a nuanced picture of what it takes to safeguard—or sometimes lose—what makes New York "New York."